39: On the eve of the storm

Yao Delong quickly weighed his options in his mind. What Yun Ruoning said was true; leaving the city late at night was extremely risky.

Undercurrents were surging within the city right now, and he feared he would be intercepted and killed the moment he stepped outside.

Using the influence of the White Cloud Merchant Guild to enter seclusion and establish his Foundation here was indeed the best choice!

He still had a few Profound Dao Pills in his possession, and Yun Ruoning's request wasn't impossible to satisfy. This, instead, provided a layer of security.

"Very well," Yao Delong spoke hoarsely, nodding slightly to Yun Ruoning.

"I shall accept Young Manager Yun's hospitality then. Please arrange a quiet room for me."

[Ding! Target Yun Ruoning's favorability +5! Current favorability: 30! (Joyful, initial goal achieved)]

A joyful light instantly burst from Yun Ruoning's eyes, and her smile became even more gentle and moving:

"Senior is too polite! It is Ruoning's honor! Please follow me!"

Meanwhile, in Private Box A-3.

Mu Long cautiously received the jade box, which was sealed with multiple Restrictions, personally handed over by Master Mo Daoyun.

Feeling the surging Dao Rhyme within that made even him feel a slight palpitation, he solemnly stored it in the deepest part of his storage ring.

"Father! Uncle Liu, let's head back quickly! Delays bring trouble!"

Mu Baitie's intelligence finally seemed to come online for once, but his heart was more preoccupied with another matter.

Mu Long nodded and said to Liu Tiezhu, "Old Liu, let's go! Return to the City Lord's Mansion immediately. I will protect you while you consume the pill as soon as possible!"

The three quickly left the box, surrounded by several personal guards of the City Lord's Mansion.

They low-key departed from the still-bustling auction venue and stepped onto the streets leading back to the City Lord's Mansion.

The City Lord's Mansion was located in the north of the city, about ten miles from the White Cloud Merchant Guild.

The night was deep, and the streets that were bustling during the day were now sparse with pedestrians.

The group moved through the silent flagstone roads at a moderate pace, maintaining their vigilance.

They reached a relatively secluded alley flanked by high walls on both sides.

"Jie jie jie...!!!"

A burst of bone-chilling, phantom-like cackling rang out from the darkness ahead without any warning!

"Who's there?!" Mu Long's pupils shrank as his powerful Nascent Soul Stage Aura instantly erupted, shielding Mu Baitie and Liu Tiezhu behind him!

The personal guards behind him also instantly formed a formation, their blades and swords unsheathed!

In the shadows of the alley entrance ahead, three figures slowly emerged.

The two leading figures wore strange black and white robes.

One had a face as pale as paper and a sinister gaze, holding a Bone Banner (Black Fiend) that emanated a ghostly Aura.

The other had a sallow complexion and a flickering Aura, with faint green threads (White Fiend) entwined between his fingers.

They were the notoriously infamous Demonic Path Loose Cultivators entrenched deep within the White Cloud Mountain Range—the White Cloud Twin Fiends!

Both were at the Golden Core Great Perfection cultivation level and were proficient in combined attack techniques; together, they had once held their own against an Early Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator!

However, what made Mu Long's heart race even more was the wizened figure standing between the Twin Fiends!

That person wore a long robe as dark red as blood, the hem embroidered with hideous skeletal demonic patterns.

His face was shrouded in a layer of distorted blood-colored mist, making his features indiscernible.

Only a pair of eyes remained—cold, bloodthirsty, and devoid of any emotion!

A chilling and violent Nascent Soul demonic pressure, far exceeding that of a Golden Core and resembling a Vicious Beast waiting to devour its prey, firmly locked onto him!

"Blood-robed... Nascent Soul demonic Cultivator?!" Mu Long gasped, his heart instantly sinking to the bottom!

"City Lord Mu, congratulations on winning the precious treasure!" Black Fiend let out a raspy, unpleasant laugh, his eyes greedily fixed on Mu Long's Storage Ring.

"If you're smart, leave that pill behind, and we brothers can grant you a path to live."

White Fiend added sinisterly, his voice like a venomous snake's hiss.

"How audacious!" Mu Long's hair and beard bristled as he roared,

"Mere Devil Heads dare to covet the property of my City Lord's Mansion in White Cloud City! If you want to die, I shall fulfill your wish!"

The Nascent Soul power within him surged frantically as he struck out with a palm. His robust dharma power transformed into a massive crimson palm print,

carrying the might to burn mountains and boil seas as it crashed toward the trio! At the same time, he shouted sternly to the guards behind him: "Protect the Young Master! Retreat quickly!"

The storage ring in his hand turned into a streak of light and fell into Mu Baitie's hand.

However, facing Mu Long's wrathful strike,

the wizened demonic Cultivator merely raised a finger that looked like a dried tree branch and tapped lightly toward that formidable crimson palm print.

Buzz!

A point of extreme darkness, seemingly capable of swallowing all light, suddenly condensed at his fingertip and instantly expanded!

There was no world-shaking explosion. That majestic crimson palm print actually dissolved like melting ice the moment it touched that point of darkness,

silently and completely devoured! Not even a ripple was produced!

The wizened demonic Cultivator lowered his finger, and a very faint cold snort seemed to come from under his mask.

His cloudy gaze swept over Mu Long as if looking at an insignificant ant.

"Do it," a hoarse voice, sounding like metal scraping, squeezed out of his throat.

"The Saintess's order... must not fail. Bring the item back intact!"

As the words fell, a fierce light erupted in the eyes of the White Cloud Twin Fiends!

Black Fiend violently shook the Bone Banner in his hand, and the shrill sound of ghostly wails and wolf howls instantly filled the night sky!

Countless hideous vengeful spirits and malicious ghosts surged out of the banner, pouncing toward the people from the City Lord's Mansion!

White Fiend flicked his ten fingers repeatedly, and a sky full of wretched green poison needles shot out like a torrential rain, the air filling with a nauseatingly sickly-sweet scent!

The wizened demonic Cultivator's figure disappeared from the spot like a ghost.

In the next instant, a withered claw carrying a sharp whistle that tore through space,

as if ignoring distance, grabbed straight for Mu Long's heart!

Its speed was so fast and its momentum so ruthless that it far exceeded an ordinary Early Nascent Soul Stage!

Mu Long's expression changed drastically! Only now did he truly feel the terror of this wizened demonic Cultivator!

This was definitely no ordinary demonic Cultivator! The "Saintess" mentioned by the opponent made his heart shake even more violently!

A perilously dangerous Nascent Soul-level slaughter suddenly erupted in this silent, late-night alley!

On the top floor of the White Cloud Merchant Guild, inside a luxurious and quiet VIP cultivation room.

The heavy stone door slowly closed, completely cutting off all the noise from the outside world.

The Spiritual Qi in the room was so dense it almost liquefied. Star Stones embedded in the walls emitted a soft and steady light,

illuminating Yao Delong's wizened and focused face.

He sat cross-legged in the center of the formation eye, with a pitch-black, ancient-looking Pill Furnace floating before him—it was the earth fire spirit nurturing furnace!

His eyes were tightly shut, and his mind was immersed deep within his Sea of Consciousness, where the Pill Formula and refinement techniques for the nine revolutions heavenly soul foundation establishment pill were reflected.

Every step and every detail of heat control was imprinted in his heart. This was the most critical step for him in decades, and there was no room for error.

"Hu..." He exhaled a long breath of turbid air. His thin but exceptionally steady hands slowly rose,

and a wisp of extremely condensed, almost transparent Pill Fire danced at his fingertips—it was the prototype of the "Innate True Fire" he had cultivated from the Pill Scripture!

Though weak, it was incredibly pure, carrying an Aura of Origin.

The flame gently licked the outermost purple-gold thread of the heavenly vein ganoderma.

Alchemy had begun! The entire quiet room was enveloped in a profound, focused, and solemn atmosphere.

Outside the quiet room.

Lin Qingxue, dressed in an ice-blue gown, paced anxiously in the hallway covered with a soft carpet.

Her brow was tightly furrowed, and her ice-cold eyes were filled with undisguisable worry.

"Fairy Lin needn't worry!"

A gentle and soft voice came from behind. Yun Ruoning approached quietly, her green gown elegant and dignified, like drifting clouds under the moon.

Seeing Lin Qingxue's anxious look, she comforted her warmly:

"Senior Yao's Foundation is the most robust Ruoning has ever seen. To have such an Aura even in the Qi Refining realm,

once this Foundation Establishment succeeds... his future will be limitless. Fairy Lin should put her heart at ease."

Hearing this, Lin Qingxue's tense heartstrings relaxed slightly, and she gave Yun Ruoning a forced smile.

"Rumble—!"

A violent explosion tore through the night sky of White Cloud City!